VANCOUVER -- Marijuana users are more likely than non-users to be single, well-educated and earning a decent salary. That's one of the findings included in a detailed analysis of data contained in the Canadian Addiction Survey. The survey was originally released last year, but the analysis released Wednesday reveals variations in drug and alcohol use according to income, education and marital status. For example, married couples, high-school dropouts and low-income earners were the least likely to toke. More than half of never-married Canadians have smoked marijuana (57.5 per cent) at some point in their lives, compared with 41 per cent of married couples and 35 per cent of previously married respondents. [continues 59 words]
The RCMP is defending its decision to spend $110,000 on a high-profile study that warned of the increasing dangers of marijuana grow operations in British Columbia and was headed by a criminologist with extensive links to police forces in North America. Insp. Paul Nadeau said the funds were a good use of RCMP resources and insisted the police force gave Darryl Plecas "total freedom" to conduct his research. "We just wanted the facts," said Nadeau, who heads the RCMP's co-ordinated marijuana enforcement unit in B.C. [continues 121 words]
A drug addict who led police on a high-speed chase asked a judge for a stiffer sentence Thursday. Robert Gordon Sadowsky got his wish: two years in a federal prison. Defence lawyer Laurie Wood said her 25-year-old client will have access to better treatment programs for his methamphetamine addiction in the federal system rather than in a provincial jail. Provincial court Judge Paul Adilman said he was prepared to hand Sadowsky 15 to 18 months but granted the request for two years. An inmate who receives a sentence of less than two years must serve the time in a provincial jail. [continues 79 words]
VANCOUVER - Vancouver heroin users have become the first in North America to be given free prescription heroin, as part of a controversial drug trial that began Monday. The North American Opiate Medication Initiative (NAOMI) started treating just three drug users, but will eventually recruit 157 people for the two-year study. They will be split into two groups -- one receiving heroin, the other methadone -- to find out if heroin is better for addicts who have failed at methadone or abstinence. The heroin users will attend the heavily secured clinic three times a day, seven days a week, to be given their fix in a safe-injection room. Methadone users will come twice a day to drink their heroin substitute. [end]
VANCOUVER -- Vancouver heroin-users have become the first in North America to be given free prescription heroin, as part of a controversial drug trial that began yesterday. The North American Opiate Medication Initiative (NAOMI) started treating just three drug users, but will eventually recruit 157 people for the two-year study. "Today, the treatment stage of the NAOMI study begins," said spokesman Jim Boothroyd. "The clinical trial is fully up and running. NAOMI is the first clinical trial in North America of prescribed medical heroin." [continues 134 words]
Vancouver heroin-users have become the first in North America to be given free prescription heroin, as part of a controversial drug trial that began Monday. It began with just three drug users, but will eventually recruit 157 people for the two-year study. They'll be split into two groups -- one receiving heroin, the other methadone -- to find out if heroin is better for addicts who've failed at methadone or abstinence. "The site has the security requirements of Fort Knox,"said spokesman Jim Boothroyd. [end]
Heroin paid for by Canadian taxpayers was given to addicts Monday and promptly injected. The three Vancouver users have become the first in North America to be given free prescription heroin as part of a controversial drug trial. The North American Opiate Medication Initiative, or NAOMI, plans to recruit 157 people for the two-year study. Participants will be split into two groups -- one receiving heroin, the other methadone -- to find out if heroin is better for addicts who have failed at methadone or abstinence. [continues 58 words]
VANCOUVER -- Vancouver heroin-users have become the first in North America to be given free prescription heroin, as part of a controversial drug trial that began Monday. The North American Opiate Medication Initiative (NAOMI) started treating just three drug users, but will eventually recruit 157 people for the two-year study. "The clinical trial is fully up and running," said spokesman Jim Boothroyd. Trial participants will be split into two groups -- one receiving heroin, the other methadone -- to find out if heroin is better for addicts who've failed at methadone or abstinence. [continues 105 words]
OTTAWA - Growing support among MPs of different political stripes for tough mandatory minimum sentences to deter marijuana grow operations usually run by organized gangs could lead to amendments to the Liberals' marijuana bill, Conservative justice critic Vic Toews predicted. The cannabis bill now before the Commons justice committee would double the maximum punishment for grow ops with more than 50 plants to 14 years from seven years. Toews said Friday the Conservatives will likely table amendments that would require judges to impose a sentence of at least two years in prison. He said he believes stiffening the penalties could garner support from Bloc Quebecois MPs. "We do need acceptable mandatory minimums that other parties can also live with because that is key to the success of this," Toews said. [end]
REGINA - A Regina man currently in jail for dealing cocaine is in trouble again, this time with the taxman. Bradley Daniel Roth pleaded guilty this week to tax evasion after failing to declare $189,083 in income on tax returns, some of which was earned from drug trafficking. Roth, 42, evaded paying federal income taxes totalling $37,812 by failing to report his total income, according to the Canada Revenue Agency. From information obtained through a court order, a Canada Revenue Agency audit determined part of the unreported income came from his criminal activities, said a tax official. The Income Tax Act doesn't differentiate between income derived legally or illegally, she explained. All income must be declared. Roth will have to serve six additional months concurrent to the 26 months he is serving in a federal penitentiary for drug trafficking. [end]
OTTAWA - Opposition critics are calling on Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan to retract comments linking the shooting deaths of four police officers to marijuana grow operations and suggesting a government review of police procedure should be called. Conservative MP Peter MacKay spoke Tuesday after RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli told CanWest News Service he was too quick to suggest the four Mounties in Mayerthorpe last Thursday were killed by a man defending his grow-op. "I think it would be appropriate (that) the minister retract or at least acknowledge that she was quick off the mark ... when she made this link to grow-ops," said MacKay, the Tory critic for public safety and emergency preparedness. "Saying it was the root cause and suggesting somehow that grow-ops were to blame for these deaths is overstating it and it was said pre-emptively. It was said before all the facts were gathered." [end]
OTTAWA - Justice Minister Irwin Cotler says he'll "soon" table an unprecedented bill in Parliament that would make it easier for the government to seize and forfeit the illicit property of people convicted of organized crimes, and possibly other serious offences. In an interview Wednesday, Cotler confirmed for the first time that he'll introduce legislation that could be even broader than a sweeping private member's proceeds-of-crime bill that was jointly endorsed last October by the Bloc Quebecois, Conservatives and NDP. Cotler disclosed his plans a day before the Commons is scheduled to debate an opposition motion demanding the Liberals table a proceeds-of-crime bill by April 30, 2005. "We are working on our proposed legislation," Cotler said in an interview. [end]
OTTAWA -- A B.C. push for tougher laws against marijuana grow operations was torpedoed at the weekend Liberal policy convention here by young activists who concluded the idea had an excessively Conservative bent. The policy proposal called for changes to federal legislation now before Parliament that will decriminalize possession of small amounts of pot but double maximum penalties for major grow operations from seven to 14 years. The B.C. initiative was that grow-ops have emerged as a significant safety and crime issue and proposed a minimum two-year federal jail term for major operators. [continues 81 words]
Police officials across Canada were calling Friday for tougher measures to fight the growing illicit marijuana trade in the wake of the shooting deaths of four Alberta Mounties on Thursday. In Ottawa, Chief Vince Bevan -- a consistent critic of lenient marijuana laws and an advocate of tougher gun laws and the need for a competent gun registry -- pulled no punches when pinpointing blame for Canada's spiralling scourge of illegal grow-ops. "This is a serious problem not being adequately dealt with by Parliament," he said. "Through sentencing and legislation, we are not treating grow-ops seriously." [continues 701 words]
'Abandon Any Notion of Decriminalization,' Premier Tells Feds CALGARY - Alberta Premier Ralph Klein said Friday that Ottawa should scrap its move to decriminalize pot after four RCMP officers were shot dead at a marijuana grow operation northwest of Edmonton. Police officials across the country also called Friday for tougher measures to fight the growing illicit marijuana trade. "They should abandon any notion of decriminalization," Klein told reporters in Calgary. He said the officers were slain at a "significant" grow op with 300 plants worth $300,000. [continues 1089 words]
CALGARY - Alberta Premier Ralph Klein said Friday that Ottawa should scrap its move to decriminalize pot after four police officers were shot dead this week at a marijuana grow operation north of Edmonton. "They should abandon any notion of decriminalization," he told reporters in Calgary. Klein said the officers were slain at a "significant" grow op with 300 plants worth $300,000. The Alberta premier tore into the federal Liberals for being inconsistent on marijuana, talking about tougher penalties for growers while moving to decriminalize the drug. [continues 92 words]
Deadly Wake-Up Call Police officials across Canada responded yesterday to the shooting deaths of four Alberta Mounties on Thursday, expressing their remorse and weighing in on the contentious political and policing issues surrounding the marijuana trade. In Ottawa, Chief Vince Bevan -- a consistent critic of lenient marijuana laws -- pulled no punches when pinpointing blame for Canada's spiralling scourge of illegal grow-ops. "This is a serious problem not being adequately dealt with by Parliament," he said. "Through sentencing and legislation, we are not treating grow-ops seriously." [continues 489 words]
Alberta Premier Ralph Klein said yesterday that Ottawa should scrap its move to decriminalize pot after four police officers were shot dead on Thursday at a marijuana grow operation north of Edmonton. "They should abandon any notion of decriminalization," he told reporters in Calgary. Mr. Klein said the officers were slain at a "significant" grow-op with 300 plants worth $300,000. The Alberta Premier tore into the federal Liberals for being inconsistent on marijuana, talking about tougher penalties for growers while moving to decriminalize the drug. In light of the deaths, Alberta Solicitor-General Harvey Cenaiko is preparing a report on tackling marijuana grow operations and organized crime that will be forwarded to the federal government. [end]
RCMP Across Canada Fighting Fast-Rising Drug Battle THE four RCMP officers who were killed yesterday in a botched raid on a marijuana growing operation in northwestern Alberta are just one front in a battle being fought against the country's fastest expanding drug problem. From suburban dream homes, to inner-city warehouses, and even a mothballed Molson brewery, grow-ops are proliferating across Canada and it's rare that a week goes by without a major bust. Last Thursday, police in Chilliwack, B.C., pulled 816 pot plants from a home in the city 92 kilometres east of Vancouver. The following day, RCMP found 800 plants and about 20 pounds of dried marijuana in a grow operation in Mission, also east of Vancouver. [continues 400 words]
OTTAWA -- Touted by some as the worst weed on the market, marijuana sold by the government of Canada has been rejected by nearly 30 per cent of people who received it for relief from illness. Documents obtained by CanWest News Service indicate while 93 medical marijuana users received pouches of the dried herb between August 2003 and the end of March 2004, 29 of them sent them back. Nineteen patients even refused to pay the $150 price tag per sack. Now, the Office of Cannabis Medical Access can't seem to get the sticky green off their hands. Of the 1,788 kilograms harvested for the government since 2000, around 28 kg have been sent to patients for consumption. While some marijuana was used for research, 1,127 kg remained in storage last December, according to records released under the Access to Information Act. [continues 75 words]
CHILLIWACK -- Charges of running a marijuana-growing operation in Mission have been thrown out by a B.C. Supreme Court judge because police got a bit hasty with their battering ram. In a Jan. 20 oral decision released Tuesday, Justice B.M. Joyce dismissed charges against a husband and wife after finding the house search that turned up the evidence was unreasonable. Li Qing Mai and her husband Zhi Wen Tang had been charged with unlawful production of marijuana, possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking, and theft of electricity. [continues 172 words]
Marijuana is perceived as easier to access than cigarettes on Canadian school grounds, a newly released government report on teenagers shows. Commissioned by Health Canada, the report was prepared for the department's effort in developing coping and refusal skills among teenagers. It said the easier access to marijuana is ironically due to the legal age limit for smoking cigarettes and the fact that you have to buy cigarettes through traditional outlets, such as corner stores. Based on focus groups held across the country, it also states that marijuana is perceived among Canadian teens to be less harmful to those who use it, compared to cigarettes, because of the effective messages that participants have been exposed to on the health effects of cigarettes and second-hand smoke relative to those of marijuana. [end]
Cookies -- peanut butter, chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin -- were entered as evidence this week in the trial of a Victoria medical marijuana activist. The cookies, 44 in total, were in plastic Tupperware-style containers and, according to Health Canada, contained cannabis resin and in one case -- the oatmeal raisin -- tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the active chemical in cannabis. Bottles of massage oil, jars of salve and capsules were also entered as evidence. The products were seized during a March 21, 2002, search of the Cannabis Buyer's Club in Victoria. The club supplies marijuana to people suffering from medical conditions or disabilities. "The cookies are quite large. They have good ingredients. They are quite nutritious," said club founder Ted Smith. Mr. Smith is on trial, charged with possession of cannabis resin for the purpose of trafficking. [end]
Manitoba drivers suspected of being high on drugs will be asked to perform a specific series of tasks, including standing on one leg while counting out loud, under new regulations approved by the NDP government. The new regulations stem from amendments to the provincial Highway Traffic Act approved by the legislature last spring. Those who fail the test can have their vehicles impounded and driver's licence suspended for 24 hours or more. [end]
VANCOUVER - A Chilliwack, B.C., gated community is looking to be the first in Canada to "pot-proof" its homes. The scheme will require buyers to forfeit their homes if they're ever used for a marijuana-grow operation. Property developer Bill Coughlin said people in the Fraser Valley have all too often bought their dream home, only to have a nearby grow-op turn it into a nightmare. "The community is being held hostage to criminal activity," said Coughlin Monday. "Chilliwack had more than 200 grow-ops in 2003." [end]
A 70-year-old woman received an absolute discharge Thursday after being arrested last summer for smoking marijuana in public. Jean Cooper, a mother of six, grandmother of eight and great-grandmother of one, pleaded guilty to the charge of possessing less than 30 grams of pot. Cooper said she wasn't surprised about the way the case turned out. She said any judge with a lick of sense and an ounce of compassion would have done the same. The senior was arrested on Aug. 30 after three police officers walked into Up In Smoke Cafe, a weed-friendly shop in Hamilton, Ont., where patrons openly smoke marijuana. [continues 89 words]
OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Paul Martin is brushing aside warnings from U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci that a border crackdown and tie-ups will result if Canada decriminalizes marijuana, saying simply that Canada reserves the right to pass laws as it sees fit. Asked for response to Cellucci's comments in a newspaper interview, Martin said: "Firstly, the legislation is before the House of Commons, then the parliamentary committee will have its discussions on all the various points, and we'll wait to see the legislation that comes from that. [continues 213 words]
A stoned driver is a safer driver, B.C.'s leading marijuana advocate says. "Cannabis will likely improve your driving," Marc Emery, president of the B.C. Marijuana Party, said yesterday. "People don't speed on pot. People go slower, they're more cautious." His comments came a day after the federal government reintroduced legislation to decriminalize pot possession and subject suspect drivers to drug testing. [end]
OTTAWA - A report is calling for needle exchange programs to be implemented in Canadian prisons and jails within 18 months to help stem the growing number of HIV and hepatitis C cases among inmates. The report by the Canadian HIV-AIDS Legal Network cited evidence from six countries, including Switzerland and Germany, where prison needle exchange programs are already in effect, to show how the programs don't endanger prison staff or increase drug use by inmates. "Outside prison, needle exchange programs have been operating with government funding throughout Canada since the late 1980s," Ralf Jurgens, the network's executive director, said in a statement. [continues 110 words]
VANCOUVER -- Police say they're opposed to a plan to expand the city's safe-injection site to include a room where crack cocaine addicts can light up. Mayor Larry Campbell said Sunday the site now predominantly used by heroine, morphine, hydromorphone and cocaine intravenous drug users should be expanded so that crack addicts can toke up in a safe setting - -- a scenario the police union said would create crack dens and not help addicts kick the habit. "I don't know why they would be upset about that and fully supportive of supervised injection sites," Campbell said of police reaction. "We are taking the people off the street that they have to deal with as a nuisance and we are trying to get them help so it's no different." [continues 214 words]
VANCOUVER -- Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell and the Vancouver Police Union are at loggerheads over his plan to expand the city's safe-injection site to include a room where crack cocaine addicts can light up. Campbell said yesterday the site now predominantly used by heroine, morphine, hydromorphone and cocaine intravenous drug users should be expanded so that crack addicts can toke up in a safe setting -- a scenario the police union said would create crack dens and not help addicts kick the habit. [continues 148 words]
VANCOUVER -- Carol Gwilt, owner of a Vancouver cafe that allegedly sold marijuana across the counter, will remain in jail until the courts have dealt with the charges against her, a provincial court judge ruled Wednesday. Gwilt, 38, who owns the Da Kine Food and Beverage Shop, was arrested last week for breaching bail conditions set by Judge William Kitchen earlier this month. She was in court Wednesday to find out whether she would be granted bail again while awaiting her Oct. 6 court date. [continues 102 words]
A provincial court judge refused to grant bail to a woman whose cafe had been openly selling marijuana over the counter for months. It could be many months before Carole Gwilt's case goes to trial. Details of the decision could not be released due to a publication ban. [end]
Truckers Nabbed At Manitoba-Ontario Border Weigh Scale FALCON LAKE, MAN. - The RCMP Officer Smelled A Rat. The truck driver standing in front of him was nervous as the officer reviewed his documentation at the roadside weigh station. No wonder. The trucker's waybills were sketchy on details and his gas receipts and log book did not add up. That was enough for Const. Ryan Cadotte, who, along with provincial weigh scale inspectors, initiated a search of the man's vehicle. [continues 385 words]
VANCOUVER -- Some people opening their morning mail have been getting a surprise gift -- a letter stuffed with marijuana. The letters have been arriving in a Vancouver suburb as return mail, with their name and address as the return address. When they open the envelope, the horrified residents have just received a sizable bag of dope. They now fear drug traffickers are using their names and addresses to run drugs through the mail. Chris Taulu, who manages the Collingwood Community Policing Centre, said she's had four letters cross her desk in the past couple of months. Taulu figures each envelope contains enough pot for a half-dozen joints. She passed on the letters to Vancouver drug squad detectives. Taulu also told Vancouver City Councillors of her concerns last week. [continues 113 words]
OTTAWA -- Only weeks before the Martin government plans to revive a marijuana decriminalization bill, the U.S. has taken another pot-shot at Canada by saying its slack drug penalties amount to an "invitation" for organized crime. "We are concerned that the lack of judicial sanctions against marijuana producers is resulting in greater involvement in the burgeoning marijuana industry by organized criminal groups," said a report from President George W. Bush to the U.S. Congress. It's the second year that Canada has been mentioned in the annual White House report on countries with drug problems, mainly from South America. [continues 130 words]
Teachers can play a role in saving British Columbia children from marijuana grow-ops in homes, police say. "It's extremely common that we find children, from infants right through to teenagers, inside grow-ops," said RCMP Cpl. Tim Shields. "It's uncomfortable to talk about, but we need to get it into the open." Last year, police found kids in 23 of 160 grow-ops they busted, he said. There are an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 grow-ops in B.C., with up to 3,700 children believed to be living in them. [continues 188 words]
The owner of a controversial Vancouver cafe that sells marijuana has been re-arrested on a charge of breaching her bail conditions. Carol Gwilt, owner of Da Kine Food and Beverage, was arrested without incident in a vehicle Thursday and taken into custody. Da Kine caught the attention of police after media reports of over-the-counter sales of marijuana. Police raided the shop Sept. 9 and arrested Ms. Gwilt and seven employees on charges of possessing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. Ms. Gwilt was also charged with possessing proceeds from a crime. [continues 62 words]
VANCOUVER -- Carol Gwilt, owner of the controversial Vancouver cafe that's doing brisk sales in marijuana, was re-arrested Thursday afternoon on a charge of breaching her bail conditions. Gwilt, owner of Da Kine Food and Beverage, was arrested without incident in a vehicle Thursday and taken into custody. She will appear in provincial court Friday, said Const. Sarah Bloor, spokeswoman for the Vancouver Police Department. Da Kine caught the attention of police after media reports of over-the-counter sales of marijuana. Police raided the shop Sept. 9 and arrested Gwilt and seven employees on charges of possessing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. Gwilt was also charged with possessing proceeds from a crime. [continues 135 words]
Leader Of Society Advocating The Drug In Court Today VANCOUVER - The founder of the society supplying pot at Vancouver's Da Kine Smoke and Beverage Shop is back in jail on a charge of possessing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. Donald Briere, who was on parole for growing marijuana, money laundering and a weapons offence, was taken into custody Sunday, four days after Vancouver police raided Da Kine, a store that continues to defiantly sell marijuana. Court documents indicate Mr. Briere was charged with possession of up to three kilograms of marijuana for the purposes of trafficking. [continues 123 words]
The nurse who set up an unauthorized safe injection site for intravenous drug users on Vancouver's seedy Downtown Eastside has been honoured with an international human rights award. Megan Oleson and Pivot Legal Society, also of Vancouver, are the joint Canadian recipients of the 2004 Awards for Action on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights presented by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and the New York-based Human Rights Watch. Several months prior to the September 2003 opening of a Health Canada-approved safe injection site, Oleson opened an unauthorized site which drew police scrutiny. [continues 55 words]
The business of selling marijuana buds at a Vancouver cafe remained brisk Saturday, three days after the store was raided and its hefty stash confiscated by police. The Da Kine Cafe was able to restock after the Thursday raid, but ran out of marijuana to sell late Friday night. Staff promised the weed sales would resume Sunday. Defiant management has vowed the controversial head shop will not bow to police pressure and cease pot sales, despite advice to the contrary from their lawyer. They said the cafe is contemplating legal action against police for damages to the premises during the raid. [end]
The owner of a Vancouver cafe that sells pot over the counter will appear at a hearing where her city-issued business licence might be revoked. Barb Windsor, Vancouver's deputy chief licensing inspector, said yesterday a panel of three city councillors will hear evidence Sept. 15 relating to the operation of the Da Kine Smoke & Beverage Shop before making a recommendation to city council. Owned by Carol Gwilt, the Da Kine cafe is permitted to sell pre-packaged food - no food preparation is allowed on-site- along with publications, gifts and clothing. [continues 70 words]
SURREY -- A youth convicted Tuesday of three counts of dangerous driving in a high-speed single-car crash that cost two 16-year-old boys their lives smirked as he walked out of a Surrey courtroom. His attitude, and the fact that he still has his driver's licence, upset the mothers of the two dead boys, who were also disappointed that the Crown failed to make its case for driving while impaired by marijuana -- which would have set a national precedent. "We were hoping that this would be a precedent-setting case and that the laws would be changed, and need to be changed now," said Helen Featherstone, whose son Simon died in the April 4, 2002, crash. [continues 78 words]
EDMONTON - Inmates at the Edmonton Remand Centre have been told about the dangers of ingesting drug balloons after a man accidentally died of an overdose in his cell in 2002. A fatality inquiry report, released Wednesday, said Brandon Christopher Ziegler died when a small balloon containing methamphetamine ruptured in his stomach on Dec. 23. An autopsy showed the amount of methamphetamine in his system was about 210 times the amount found in the blood of a person ingesting a dose of the drug. In his inquiry report, provincial court Judge Lloyd Malin offered one recommendation for remand centre staff to discuss the "risks and dangers of body packing" with inmates. [end]
A marijuana demonstration turned nasty yesterday when at least two people were detained during scuffles with city police at a park near the provincial legislature. The dustup started after police - accompanied by municipal bylaw officers and parks officials - shut down a pro-pot rally when organizers failed to produce the necessary permits and insurance. [end]
SASKATOON -- The founder of the B.C. Marijuana Party and Cannabis Culture magazine was sentenced to three months in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to one count of trafficking the drug. It was the 11th drug-related conviction for Marc Emery of Vancouver, but the first time he has been sentenced to jail time. He'd received fines for previous offences. Emery seemed stunned after Saskatoon provincial court Judge Albert Lavoie pronounced the sentence. "Three months for one joint?" he asked the gallery before a bailiff shushed him. [continues 132 words]
VANCOUVER -- Ottawa has given conditional approval to the dispensing of free heroin to drug addicts in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. The North American Opiate Medication Initiative will recruit 158 local drug-users for the 21-month pilot project, set to begin by the end of the year. Health Canada said it wants adequate security measures in place for staff and users before full permission is granted. Initiative spokesman Jim Boothroyd said the clinic to be used for the project will have "extraordinarily high levels of security" because it will have heroin on site. [continues 51 words]
Marijuana researchers have found the psychoactive component of pot may intensify the severity of the most common type of epileptic seizures. The finding surprised research leader Dr. Michael Corcoran at the University of Saskatchewan. He had expected his findings would support older research that suggested high doses of THC could suppress grand mal seizures. Now Dr. Corcoran suspects the effects of THC or its synthetic form, cannabinoids, may depend on the part of the brain where the seizure occurs. His experiments on rats have shown seizures which begin in the temporal lobes of the brain appear to last longer and be more severe after cannabinoids are administered. He thinks studies conducted in the 1980s may have had a greater concentration of a THC component acting on the brain stem, where grand mal seizures originate. [end]
OTTAWA-- The National Capital Commission is "defiling the memory of the father of Gatineau Park" by failing to stop marijuana cultivation near the prime minister's Harrington Lake residence, a park activist says. Chelsea resident Jean-Paul Murray, a Senate speech-writer, said yesterday he stumbled upon about 60 marijuana plants last week during a country walk. The plants are close to Meech Lake Road used by Prime Minister Paul Martin and thousands of other visitors to the park. Murray said the plants are in a valley once owned by Roderick Percy Sparks who he said played a far more influential role in founding Gatineau Park than Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King who is still regarded as the park's founder. [continues 65 words]
